


Keeping a Promise

by DigiConjurer



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 10:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16891032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigiConjurer/pseuds/DigiConjurer
Summary: Because not even death can keep a person or sprite down.





	Keeping a Promise

Keeping a promise

It began with death for Clark.

While he had seen such a fate coming for quite some time, it was a whole lot different to just be in the moment, living it.

Sure, his light armor and lack of a proper weapon made for a not very threatening opponent. It was something he had accepted a long time ago. So he had focused his skills in other areas. Things such as psionics and magic. Even then, he wasn’t that good at them either. His best attempts at moving objects was just a couple feet on a good day and any attempts at getting the most basic spells usually resulted in him just barely holding the spell together and fainting. But in a way, that was how he caught his eye.

“It’s been fun running with you.” he whispered and took a deep breath. The crowds were already closing in, not at all caring to hear his side. A shame, but an expected one.

“I'm sorry about this.” a voice called out, the teenager not quite catching their face as the world quickly hurled him down to his death. But it didn’t matter that he couldn’t see this particular face. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but just hearing them made his heart slightly flutter.

“I promise you, I will come back.” he shouted, hoping that the person in question actually heard the words to the best of their abilities. “Then, nothing will be able to stop of us!”

At first, all he got was a light chuckle. But then...

“Of course.” the voice answered, possibly cracking in the process. Not that either seemed to notice. “Don't make me wait too long~”

“I won't.”

The ground collided with his head right after he said that, everything going dark seconds after.

_Child of supposed darkness, your time has not come._

Clark’s eyes shot open.

Gone was the floor his body should've been laying on, getting replaced with what appeared to be sand from a small tropical island. Of course, that did little in the way of explaining why he was sitting in a wooden chair with a desk in front of him. Or the presence of a man that looked like he could be someone's grandpa. If Clark had one, may be this person would have reminded them of him. But alas, that was not the case.

“Hi?” he whispered, taking the time to look this person over. Once you got passed the whole grandpa getup, this person seemed dressed for an island lifestyle. They had the unbuttoned floral shirt with a pair of shorts (Clark hoped they were at least) and the combo of socks with sandals. For some reason. A little overkill, if you ask yours truly. Why not just have just the sandals or just the socks? Okay, maybe the socks would just get dirty. But that’s still a weird choice when it came to footwear.

“Hello Clark.” the ‘grandfather’ answered and leaned forward in his chair. “I suspect you're wondering why I brought you here and what fate awaits you. For the moment, you may call me grandpa.”

That got him a nod, with his audience leaning forward to take in whatever he had to say.

“Among other things.” Clark joked, only get an eyeroll of sorts in return. After, ‘grandpa’ pulled out what looked to be a set of crochet hooks with what looked to be a partial sweater.

“This is your life.” ‘grandfather’ continued, and got to work unraveling a snag. “As you can probably see, this is not supposed to be your end.”

“Then uh… what happened?”

‘Grandfather’ took a deep breath, his gaze shifting to the beach.

“Some people I guess didn’t like you and saw you as the bad guy. But don’t hold it against them. They didn’t understand the bond you had with him.”

Clark’s gaze fell to the ground. He muttered something under his breath, his fist tightening in a ball.

“It’s called love, for better or worse.” ‘grandfather’ explained. “It does strange things to a man. Gives them a reason to fight, strength when they least expect it. Stuff like that.”

His guest’s gaze returned to him, right as the crocheting began again.

“I believe this is your time. Go forth and take it.”

With that, Clark was bathed in light. His vision blinded, his eyes slid shut. He also unclenched his fists. Which I guess helps.

.

When his vision did return, Clark found himself in what looked to be a bed. Four white walls sat in silence, his clothes already awaiting their chance to be worn again. Of course, what kind of person would he be to not rob such an inanimate object of such a pleasure. So he got the clothes on and returned to gazing at the room. While there wasn’t much in the way of decorations, there was a door outside. Of course, there was still the matter of checking if he still had any possessions beforehand.

“Where is it?” he muttered to himself, digging through his pockets as best he could. At first, that seemed to bring out nothing but eventually… “Here it is.”

Carefully, he pulled out a pocket-sized painting and looked it over. At first glance, it looked like a pair of boys, one sitting while the other sat. But on closer inspection, it looked like an attempt at a self portrait. All the details just seemed off, with nothing having a proper sense of scale or even matched what Clark or this other person probably looked like.

“I'll get back to you.”

After shoving the painting back into his pocket, he took a deep breath and made his way over. Carefully, he grabbed hold of the knob and twisted it open.

“Here goes nothing.” he whispered. ”I’m coming for you, my prince.”

Outside, the hallway had been set up much in the same way as the room he had just left. Bland and boring. Like seriously, whoever built this could’ve easily gone with a different color to differentiate itself from the room the psionic just left. But no, that would be

“Yeah! A nice black would be nice.”

Clark turned around, finding himself staring down a sprite of all things. More surprising, was the way they had chosen to present themself. Instead of the typical green nature look he had been expecting, this one had gone for a goth look. Which basically meant pale white skin, black hair and lips with a matching jeans and skull shirt combo. And if Clark squinted, he could just make out a single earring on the left ear. It appeared to be that of a small skull. But at that size, it could just as easily many number of things. Even then, they seemed to have quite the feminine figure for a boy. And while he was no expert on Fae, Clark was also certain that they were not shapeshifters. Though, there was a chance to there was some reasonable explanation for this. Maybe they were wearing a corset? No, that wouldn’t make sense. Some weird

“I’m guess we’re stuck in the same boat then?” the psionic remarked, only to watch the sprite’s head turn away. “I’m Clark, what’s your name?”

At first, it would seem that particular creature name was just going to be silence. But when hero just stood there with no signs of leaving, they turned their head back

“Thumbskull.” the sprite whispered, brandishing a needle towards Clark. “You haven't by any means seen an ogre in a dress by any chance?”

Clark shook his head, only to catch a whiff of lilies. It was a nice smell, but it wasn’t the sort he cared for. If it was something a bit more vague like say, the tropics, then he would be all for it. Especially if it was on ‘him’ of all people.

“Darn it.” Thumbskull muttered and looked around the general area of the hall. “Figures. The one time I tell her to meet me in the lilies, she actually listens. How about you? Anyone special in your life?”

Clark took a deep breath. On one hand, maybe the gothic sprite was possibly the worst people to tell the truth too. Especially since they had just met mere minutes ago. But there was something about this sprite that didn’t sit with him. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it gave him the impression that things we’re not what they seemed.

“Maybe.” he finally answered and got a look in return. “Are you a boy or a girl then?”

Thumbskull froze up, only to mutter something under his breath.

“Does it matter? We both have people who wanted us back. We’re not, let’s get to the bottom of this.”

Clark gave a nod. While he wasn’t quite sure of this ‘Thumbskull’s’ motives, they were all they had at the moment.

“Deal.” Clark answered and shook the sprite’s hand. Though, it would be his companion that was doing most of the work. “So, what do you bring to the table?”

“I’m small, agile, able to fly...” Thumbskull remarked as they headed down the hall, eventually reaching a door. “And I like to stab people. A lot. How about you?”

Clark concentrated for a second on the knob. Slowly, the knob began to turn and the door opened up.

“Psionics. Never thought I see one of those. Is it true that your powers come from your mind and stuff?”

They passed on through, giving Clark just enough to time come with an answer. And sure, he could have gone and said the obvious answer, but where’s the fun in that?

“I guess? For all I know, it comes from some mystical organism that I never met before.” Clark answered, making sure to close the door behind himself. “I guess they thought I was worthy or something.”

Yeah, sort of like the magical voice in your head. I’m surprised you haven’t made a response to me at all. If you want, I would be willing to have a personal name.

“Uh…”

“I think I have one of those too.” Thumbskull added and pumped their chest out. But not too much. “Except mine just suggests a constant stream of emo-related stuff.”

I find that highly unlikely. If anything, what is the emo diet? What are you supposed to eat and drink? And please don’t tell me that it’s drinking your own blood. That’s unhygienic and just nasty. Of course, our resident sprite wasn't listening. Which I hope wasn't a suggestion by the voice in their head. If they even had one to begin with.

“Uh… I eat lots of meats and uh… none of those veggies and fruits.” Thumbskull finally responded. “And definitely not flowers. Those things are just awful and bad sme-”

Says the person doused in the scent of lilies.

“Shut up! I also drink the blood of my ene-”

I said no blood. You just said blood. Could you at least sort of follow the rules. I'm not asking for much here. That’s all.

“Screw you!”

Thankfully, Clark carefully grabbed the sprite and set him on his shoulder. Though, I extend the question to you sir as well. Please tell me that your diet isn’t as absurd as ‘miss edge’ here.

“I heard that!” Thumbskull announced, but decided to keep their mouth shut at the moment.

“Personally, I’m more of a salad guy.” Clark explained as the door outside slowly got closer. “Sometimes I’ll have some meat, but not that often.”

Huh. So you’re a vegan then. Fine by me. I guess that keeps you from having to share meals? If there’s actually any food to be had here.

“Uh… sure.”

I’m working with what I got. Don’t blame me if one of the jokes falls flat.

Carefully, Clark pushed the door open and the two headed on through.

The next room seemed to just be a large boring square. The sort that did little to tell the person anything about their situation. I guess you could file a complaint when you get to whatever exit you eventually find. Or not, criticism is a two-way street. Personally, I'm highly doubtful of Thumbskull's inner voice being completely emo. No, there has to be something else in there. But what exactly? Clark you can read minds, right?

“Uh…” Clark started as he gave his companion a quick glance. While it was kind of tempting to just say yes, the truth was probably far better here. “No. Though, it would be nice if I could do that.”

“So you just move objects around then?”

Clark gave a nod. After, he turned his attention back to Thumbskull.

“Got any magic tricks? Outside of flying, of course.”

Thumbskull rolled their eyes. After, they began to mess around with his needle. Maybe they wanted to cut himself. Though it that's what they were trying to do, they were failing miserably. Like what kind of emo are they they trying to be? It's almost like they're not an emo at all. Which wouldn't surprise me.

Thumbskull turned her attention to the ceiling, flipping it off. Good on you for doing that to a person who isn’t even technically here.

“You have no idea what you're talking about. I'm most definitely an emo.” Thumbskull snarled, trying to sound all edgy and stuff. In actuality, they sounded just frustrated and kind of pitiful. “If I look like this, maybe she'll understand then.”

As the next door came into view, Clark gave the sprite a look. While he wasn’t entirely sure what his companion was talking about, this was good of a chance as any to dig a little deeper. Even if it meant having to give up a little information of his own in exchange.

“So is this ogre girl a friend of yours or something?”

No shit, Sherlock. Obviously the ogre is a friend of theirs. Why else would they be worried about them then? That, or this sprite is a full-on tsundere. Which is just as likely.

“You could say that.” Thumbskull remarked as they took the next room in. Which was just the same as the last one. Well, there were now paintings. Which I guess was something to break up the monotony. I think. “She’s the heir to a huge flower company. I’m supposed to be her bodyguard.”

Thumbskull look off to the side.

“But look at me. I’m stuck in some weird hellscape. How about you?”

“I was thrown off the stairs of a castle.” Clark explained. “A bunch of people didn’t like that I was dating a guy, the prince of all people.”

Thumbskull got off his shoulder, mostly to give him a look. And a poke. Both of which were quite rude and not very threatening.

“So you’re gay then. Wonderful.” Thumbskull muttered. “Out of all the people I could’ve ended up having to partner up with, I get the one guy with the hots for other guys privates.”

But then she followed it up with a laugh. Which just seemed to confuse Clark. Or maybe it clued him into something that I wasn’t paying attention. Or that I already knew and was just pretending not to know.

“Let me guess. You’re totally a straight person.” Clark whispered and watched Thumbskull freeze up. They muttered something to themself, flipping the psionic off right after. “I’ll take that as a no then.”

A growl, followed by the second flipping of the bird. Which came right as they passed through another door. This time, they found themselves in a similar hallway to the one they just exited. Which seemed to not help Thumbskull at all.

“So what if I’m not!” the sprite screamed, swinging their needle into one of the paintings. “So what if my heart beats slightly faster when by her, or that she’s so nice and kind, or how she’s always putting up with my antics…”

Tears began to roll down as Thumbskull dug under their shirt. Just barely, Clark could see a slight bust on the sprite. From the looks of things, she was going for a butch look. Which I guess works, even if it would look incredibly silly on her.

“Much better.” she whispered and takes a deep breath. With a glare to the sky to boot. “Thanks for calling me out there.”

Clark gave a nod, not at all certain what he had exactly done to cause this. Not that he seemed to mind.

“I guess I can talk about my relationship now.” he added and got a nod from Thumbskull. “We had met by complete accident.”

A chuckle followed his statement.

.

It was a beautiful day in the capital. The sun was shining, the birds were singing. You know, typical fairytale stuff for a stereotypical fairytale town.

Of course, a parade was occurring for the recent return of the prince. Which meant vendors of all sorts peddling their goods. Which was where we find little old Clark.

“Oranges! Get your fresh oranges!” he announced, occasionally making a gaze out towards the slowly moving procession. One of the cars was the prince's, meaning that it was likely to be attacked. While not his problem, he would prefer that people not use his produce  to attack vehicles. He had gone through all the trouble of gathering up this much ripe fruit, it would be a waste if it went to the hands of people who didn't really care.

“Here you go.” he whispered as he completed a transaction, handing an orange over to a young child. This was how it usually went, right up till the prince's vehicle came to a stop near his stall. “How may I help you, your highness?”

The prince looked over the selection, even pointing towards a particular orange. But Clark’s attention was focused less on him and more on the area around him. He wasn't quite sure why he had been visited by a member of the royal family, but it was a nice surprise. What wouldn't be a nice surprise, was the set of scopes focusing on his customer. And without thinking, he had acted.

“Get down!”

Jumping over his stall, he pushed the prince down. Right as the snipers took their shot, resulting in a bunch of destroyed produce. But considering that it could have been worse, I call that a job well done.

“Sorry about that, your majesty.” Clark answered, only to watch the prince shake his head.

“You saved my life, so I can look past a little scuffle.”

After saying that, he handed over a card.

“Come visit one day.”

Clark gave a nod as the prince returned to his vehicle.

.

“And that's how I met the prince.” the psionic explained.

During the flashback, our two heroes had made some progress. Or they had just walked in place, got teleported and were back where they started. Kind of hard to tell in here.

Thumbskull gave a nod, only to realize something.

“Then why were you flung off a tower to your death?”

Clark let out a chuckle, only for his gaze to focus on the floor a second later.

“I’ll get to that part eventually.” he answered as he opened the door up ahead. Just barely, they could make out a change in the carpet along with nature pictures. It was a nice change from the last couple rooms, but that's just my opinion. “So, how does this lucky lady of yours enter your little life?”

Thumbskull took a deep breath, letting her gaze fixate on a nearby nature photo. After, she her attention back to Clark.

.

In a flower patch far off from wherever this place even was, sprites and fairies prance about without a care in the world. Living mostly in harmony with nature, they did their best to make sure the flowers and other plants were as healthy as can be. Of course, there were exceptions.

This was one of them.

At the edge of this particular patch, one would come upon a small stump. While the tree had long since been cut down, the stump still had more than enough nutrients for a sprite

“Ahh…”

At the time, Thumbskull had been engaging in one of her favorite activities. Looking through questionable magazines.

Of course, the sprite’s little world was about to be flipped upside down.

“Ooh… Pretty.” a voice announced as a hand scooped the not-so-emo sprite up and deposited her into a pocket. “Mommy, Daddy, can I keep her?”

Just barely, Thumbskull could make out a pair of ogres. Except they were dressed not in loincloths, but in a casual wear you would expect on humans. The father had gone for a red plaid shirt with what looked to be tan pants and loafers. The mother on the other hand, had gone for a dress like the one her daughter was wearing. Just her’s seemed to be a nice shade of cream with a belt at the waist section. Unlike her husband, she had decided to wear a couple of bracelets. Nothing too valuable, just something to spruce up her good look

“You need to take good care of her for starters.” the father explained, as the mother’s focus turned to Thumbskull. “You’ll need to provide her with a proper place to live, along with a lot of the same necessities that we do.”

“I will daddy!” the girl announced, cracking a huge smile. The only reason that Thumbskull knew that was due to the camera flash following. “What’s your name?

Thumbskull looked down to the ground and spit on it. Eventually, her gaze did return to her new owner.

“Thumbskull.” she mutters, trying her best to not stay focused. But everytime she even gazed on that face, she could feel her heart beat just a tiny bit faster. And the girl kind of smelled nice too. For an orc.

.

“I guess that’s one way to do it.” Clark answered as the next door came into view. “Did things get slightly better from that point?”

Thumbskull took a deep breath.

“I guess you could say that.” the sprite remarked. “It wasn’t that long after, I was promoted to being her bodyguard. I would follow her around, making sure she wouldn’t get into any trouble.”

Let me ask the obvious question. Why would an ogre even need a bodyguard? They seem like they would be more than capable of handling themselves. Unless… Yeah. That could be possible.

“Uh…”

Thumbskull’s gaze fell to the floor, a realization coming to her. After, she began to chuckle.

“She got me, didn’t she? I was played.” Thumbskull continued, a smile on her face. “I should’ve known that I would be outsmarted by an ogre of all things.”

Pretty much. Not that anyone could blame you for thinking that way.

“I guess I don’t give her enough credit then.”

Clark chuckled as they headed on through.

While the rooms were getting slightly nicer, the duo were no closer to the exit. If anything, they were probably starting to believe that there wasn’t one. Nah. That’s just silly, there has to be a way out. After all, how would the people building it leave?

“True?” Thumbskull answered, only for a thought to come to her. “Though, they could just teleport in and out.”

Oh right. Forgot about that aspect. You can never know with these settings. No one ever seems to keep that consistent.

“Got any hobbies?” Clark inquired, getting more giggling from the sprite.

“Looking at naked ladies and being an ogre's dress-up doll.”

That got her a glance, which she followed up with a chuckle.

“So, this is your default outfit then?”

The sprite looking down at herself, only to shake her head.

“No, this was my attempt at trying to tell her that I was going to be the one choosing what I wear, not her. What do you think?”

I guess it looks ‘emo’? Though, I'm not the greatest judge of that. I’m more of a shirt and shorts guy than someone who’s really into dressing up.

“Good to know.” Clark added and returned his attention to Thumbskull. “How do you normally dress then?”

“Usually, she would dress me up like a guy. Lots of suits, pants and things. Sometimes, she would ‘declare’ a role reversal and I would be the princess and she would be the protector. It was if she wanted me to be the pampered one. Though, it was always pink or a shade of violet.” she explained. “Keeping track of a flower empire was I guess something she wants to come second at the moment.”

Clark gave a nod and made a glance towards one of the paintings. While

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Thumbskull responded. “What was it like being with that prince of yours?”

The psionic’s gaze shifted back over to her, getting followed up with a deep breath.

“Things started off kind of rocky.”

.

It had been a couple days since the incident at the parade.

In that time, Clark had made an effort to clean himself up. Which meant on top of the usual basic hygiene, he had gotten a clean set of clothes and some light cologne. Scratch the part about cologne. He couldn't find a scent that wasn't completely overpowering for those nearby.

With that all out of the way, it was now just a matter of getting into the royal palace.

“Here goes nothing.” the psionic thought as he approached the palace gates. There, a pair of guards awaited all who dared to approach the palace. “I am here to see the prince.”

He held out the card the prince gave him, watching the guard look it over.

“Where did you get that? There is no way that this could've come from the prince.” the guards remarked, grabbing hold of Clark in the process. “To the dungeon with you.”

With that, our hero was dragged away. If given his choice, he would have asked for the prince to come down and corroborate his story. But that was not an option, with the guard taking care to drag him along the ground and through the castle grounds till they got to what looked to be a hole of some sort.

“Taint of the earth like you have no place with people like the prince.” the guard continued. “Maybe if you’re lucky, you might get let out.”

Hearing that seemed to bring Clark’s spirits up, slightly.

“Really?” he answered, his reward a chuckle from the guard.

“Fat chance, monster.”

After the remark, what seemed to be a foot collided with his side and he went tumbling down. Whether out of fear or the result of something else, he blacked out.

When his vision finally did return to him and pain subsided, Clark found himself in a large room. All the walls were painted sky blue, while an intricate carpet that cost probably a small kingdom served to balance things out. The only furniture seemed to be a large bed with a dresser beside it. But even then, quite a lot of craftsmanship had been put in. The sort that could easily make one envious. But not Clark. Sure, it would be cool to have that stuff. But he was more than fine with his little apartment. It did its job well enough and didn't cost him an arm and a leg in rent.

Thankfully, the door open before our hero could have a chance at monolging in his head. Out popped the prince, dressed in Clark's dirty clothes. Wait what?

Clark glanced down at himself, finding the royal garments of the prince on his body.y.

“Sorry about that.” the prince explained. “I found you in the dungeons, so I switched our clothes. Could I get you anything, Clark?”

Clark stared towards the prince, trying to decide how exactly to react to this. He was alive, yes. But getting dressed in another guys clothes was not what he had in mind for his first visit. But the psionic was fine with that.

“I will have to take you back to the cell after this.” the prince continued, his voice like that of an angel in Clark’s mind. Well, close enough to an angel. “But I could get you a snack before then.”

“That would be nice, you highness.”

The prince gave a nod, only to stop.

“You can drop the ‘your highness’. It’s just Prince.” the prince explained. “It’s a long story.”

Clark let out a chuckle, only to clear his throat.

“Clark, in that case.” he answered, ending it off with as sincere a smile as he can manage. “Sorry about this.”

“It's alright.” Prince answered, patting the psionic’s lightly. “I'll get you out. I promise.”

“Then I would just steal your heart.”

Right after saying that did the psionic actually realize what he said. Not that he seemed to mind. Not that the prince minded. If anything, he looked turned on.

.

Thumbskull’s gaze shot over to Clark.

“So let me get this straight.” the sprite remarked and watched her teammate’s attention turn to her. “You get grabbed by a guard, get yoinked out of jail and then decide you were totally fine with wearing someone else's clothes and possibly?”

She does have a point. How did you not get found out?

“We switched back.” Clark answered

“I made my fair share of bad decisions in my lifetime (this look among it, maybe),” Thumbskull continued. “But you sir, just topped all of that.”

Clark let out a nervous chuckle. In retrospect, that may have not been his best decision he could have made back then. But at the same time, he didn’t really regret it.

“Yeah. I probably should have came up with a better reason.” Clark eventually answered as they headed through another door and found themselves in another hallway. “But how about you then?”

Thumbskull chuckled and gave a nod.

“Well, the last time I talked to my ogre girlfriend recently…”

.

It was a normal day, well by ogre household standards.

The father had already gone to work, while the wife was getting ready for her job being a scientist or something. That just left their daughter to get herself ready for school with the help of Thumbskull.

“Wakey wakey!” Thumbskull announced as she tried her best to shake her master awake. Considering the sheer size difference between the two, was easier said than done. Especially when her master really didn’t want to wake up. “I wouldn’t want mommy to have come in here and do this~”

“Five minutes…” the ogre girl whispered, trying her best to catch a few more winks before being pulled out of it.

“No.”

Carefully, Thumbskull gave her a poke with her needle. Which I guess served its purpose, judging by the reluctant opening of the ogre’s eyes.

“Pretty…” the ogre girl whispers, grabbing Thumbskull out of the air as she got up from bed. Then it was just a short walk to her wardrobe. “Princess day!”

Carefully, she set her sprite bodyguard down and switched into a pantsuit of all things.

“No. I can dress myself.”

But those words fell on deaf ears. So she tried to struggle. Compared to the verbal effort, this actually worked. For about five seconds.

“Would you listen to me?” Thumbskull screamed as the dress was forced on. “Do you have anything other pink?”

But the ogre shook her head.

“Pink… pretty.” she whispered and got a sigh in return.

“You do realize there are other colors than pi-” Thumbskull remarked, getting cut off by the tightening of a corset that was built into the dress.

“Pink best.”

It was kind of pointless to argue at this point, especially as the ogre girl slipped on a pair of heels on the sprite. Yet, Thumbskull flung them off. After, she got out her own outfit. The emo one. Not the princess one.

“There's something we need to talk about.” she announced and watched her master look over to her.

“Talk about?” the ogre girl remarked, giving Thumbskull a confused look. “Where?”

“In the field of lilies. After school.”

A nod and the two headed out. They went

But it would seem that fate had other plans. It took the form of a swarm of bees from a nearby hive. Not sure what pissed them off, but they were out for blood.

I guess that's an emo way to go out?

.

That’s an interesting solution, even if it didn’t seemed to work out. You aren’t allergic to bees, hopefully?  
Thumbskull looked herself over,

Thumbskull took a deep breath, sitting herself down on Clark’s shoulder.

“I guess you’re right.” she muttered, watching Clark open up the next door. Now, the hallway seemed shorter now. Whether or not it actually was could just be a matter of speculation. “But she probably wouldn’t have listened anyway.”

Yet, they continued to walk on.

“Are you sure? This ogre girl seems a bit more clever than you give her credit.” Clark continued. “You could have even taken the initiative to get some outfits in other colors. Maybe tried to introduce her to a nice violet, even one of those pastel shades.”

Another deep breath. This time, it was then followed by a couple of pokes of the needle.

“You’re right. That’s probably why I’m stuck in here.” the sprite answered. “I been meaning to ask you this. How did you get in here?”

Clark took a deep breath.

To some extent, it would bound to come up in a conversation. He knew that. It didn’t change how he felt about it.

.

With any secret tied to the royal family, it was bound to get out. You can try as hard as you can to keep things sealed. But eventually, leaks form and the whole thing falls apart.

For a time, the psionic had managed to keep a low profile in the palace, making an effort to make his visits to the prince as low-key as possible. Well, within reason, of course. No operation is foolproof.

“They’re onto us.” he whispered, watching the prince just sigh. They had just transported him from the cells, with minor detection. But it would seem that something they had done had made waves through the palace grapevine. Just barely, one could hear the sound of people making a beeline to their room. Never a good thing.

“Do you have a plan?” the prince inquired, getting a deep breath in return. After, Clark whispered something into his boyfriend’s ear. “It’s better than nothing then.”

Carefully, Clark and Prince made their way outside. While the halls of the palace

There, an angry mob of servants awaited them.

“Death to the mental monster!” they chant, flinging out knives and rocks with little abandon. “Get away from Prince.”

Clark rolled his eyes and blew his beloved a kiss. In return, Prince mouthed something.

“Okay.” the psionic explained, making his way over to the crowd. “It’s been fun running with you.”

“I'm sorry about this.”

But Clark shook his head. If anything, he was tempting to fate. But we already know the outcome to this. So I guess it doesn’t really matter.

“I promise you, I will come back.” the psionic shouted, hoping that the person in question actually heard the words to the best of their abilities. “Then, nothing will be able to stop of us!”

The crowd pushed forward, grabbing hold of Clark and bringing him to the edge. Strangely, Prince lets out a light chuckle.

“Of course.” the voice answered, possibly cracking in the process. Not that either seemed to notice. “Don't make me wait too long~”

“I won't.”

They pushed him off. How rude.

.

“Ow.” Thumbskull whispered and got a reluctant chuckle. “You going to be alright, Clark?”

Clark gave a nod, only now looking himself over. From the looks of things, the psionic was in one piece.

“Yeah.” the psionic answered and cracked a smile. “Thanks for asking.”

Thumbskull gave a thumbs-up, only to clear her throat right after.

“So once you get out of here, do you plan on going back to him?” Thumbskull inquired, watching Clark’s gaze shift towards the ground. “It’s quite likely that mob will just throw you back out.”

After a few moments of silence, Clark returned his attention to Thumbskull.

“Yeah.” the psionic answered, letting a smile form on his face. “I doubt they’ll go after someone they killed before. How about you? I believe you have something to say to that ogre friend of yours.”

Thumbskull gave a nod, seeming to perk up right after.

“Yeah. For better or worse, I need to ask the question.” the sprite explained as they reached the next door. But instead of just letting Clark do all the work, it was a team effort. Even if it seemed like Clark more of the one putting his strength into it. But whatever.

On the other side, one final hall awaited with the illustrious complaint box awaited. And you all doubted me, didn't you?

“Got anything?” Clark continued, handing Thumbskull a slip of paper and pen. Even though said pen was as large as the fairy.

“Maybe make it clearer?” Thumbskull remarked, carefully writing it down. “Or vary up the rooms a bit more? Simple stuff like that would do wonders.”

“I was thinking they should provide some kind of refreshments. Some water would be nice.”

Thumbskull gave a nod, writing the last of it as best she could. After, the two deposited their notes into the box. Then it was a short walk to the exit.

“Well, thanks for traveling with me.” Clark whispered, standing at what would be their final destination for the pair. “I do hope things go well.”

Thumbskull gave a nod.

“You too. Don’t get yourself killed again.” she answered and flew on through. Clark followed right behind, ready for whatever place awaited him on the other side.

* * *

 

Epilogue:

The palace gates were open by the time that Clark had gotten back there.

“You alright?” he called out, watching what remained of a guard getting up.

“Yeah.” the guard answered and looked the psionic over. “Wait, didn’t you get thrown off the castle.”

“I was.” Clark answered.

“You should be dead!”

“I promised someone that I wouldn’t be too long. So here I am.” the psionic continued. “Can I head on through without being thrown in the dungeon?”

“Of course, my lord.”

Clark gave him a thumbs-up and charged forward through the gates. If he was lucky, he could get to his beloved before they thr-

“Incoming!”

Clark looked up, finding the prince free falling. I guess the mob was confident in their techniques to try it again. Which I guess is a case of overconfidence on the part of them. But whatever the case, our hero stopped in place and collected himself.

“I got ya!” he announced, stretching his arms out. If he was lucky, he would catch the prince and all would be well. If he was unlucky, he would have a front-row seat to a body shattering when it hit the hard floor. Not exactly the most pleasant thing in the world. Thankfully, the prince closed the distance and ended up in Clark’s arms.

“You made it.” the prince whispered, carefully moving his head to meet the psionic’s. “I knew you would.”

Clark cracked a smile and carefully, pulled his beloved lip’s over to his.

.

Thumbskull paced in place.

It wasn’t normal for her to be this impatient. But after all that had happened, it was understandable. School would’ve just gotten out for her girlfriend, meaning that it would be just a few minutes. If she hadn’t skipped on account of her death.

“Thumbskull?”

The sprite turned around, finding the arms of an ogre carefully cradling her. She was still dressed in her suit, smelling like all sorts of flowers.

“You’ve returned.”

Thumbskull cracked a smile, her cheeks blushing a bright shade of pink.

“I mostly definitely did.” she whispered, not even attempting to let her tears go unshed. “Can I ask you something?”

The ogre girl gave a nod.

“So… Would you like to go on a date?”

The words roll out of her mouth, the hug getting slightly tighter. Eventually, the ogre girl pulls out what looks to be a gray version of the outfit from earlier.

“Of course.” the ogre girl answered, a sense cheer hanging within her response. “This better?”

Thumbskull took a deep breath and looked towards the outfit.

“I just want to choose the clothes I wear too.” Thumbskull explained, getting a nod. “Good. I thought you would have taken that horribly.”

Her girlfriend gave a confused glance, carefully raising her up to her lips. It sort of worked.

“Still want to go on that date?

The two headed out, ready for a nice dinner and maybe some dancing, then a good night's rest.

The End


End file.
